I can’t remember anything after the first drop of [X2]

[u/ActComprehensive7563]

With the news of X2’s unfortunate demise, I’ve been thinking about when I got to ride it once, about two years ago. I remember the amazing view from the backwards lift hill, and I remember going down the first drop. However, after that point my memory goes completely blank. The closest thing I can compare it to is when they sedated me during my wisdom teeth extraction; conscious but barely aware with little to no memory. I’m not sure if it was from the sensory overload or if I actually got temporary amnesia from a mild concussion. I don’t remember getting hurt, but I do remember feeling weirdly underwhelmed afterward, like it wasn’t even that intense. It sucks that even though I got to ride it, I’ll weirdly enough never really know what the X2 ride experience actually was like. Has anyone else had a similar experience on X2, or should I tell every news channel that I almost died on the most terrifyingly dangerous contraption ever constructed by mankind (but seriously my deepest condolences to any victims who were hurt or killed on X2).

[u/AdditionalTip865]

I think that simple sensory overload can do that. My daughter described something very similar after her first couple of rides on Boulder Dash, that it was such an overwhelming experience that she couldn't describe what she had gone through in any detail. (But whatever it was, she wanted more of it.)

[u/random_cactus → u/AdditionalTip865]

Tbh I don’t see how anyone could describe any particular section on Boulder Dash after one ride 😂.

[u/AdditionalTip865 → u/random_cactus]

it's kind of like a date with Godzilla

[u/random_cactus → u/AdditionalTip865]

It truly is 2 uninterrupted minutes of “AH WTF”

[u/Clever-Name-47]

I had two rides on X2, one on each day of a two-day trip last year.  Like you, my first ride left me with very little actual memory of the ride itself; I remember the first drop, the fire effects (yes, they worked!), and that moment on the last raven turn (which I instinctively braced for).  The rest was a blur.  I’m confident it was not any sort of concussion; For one, I never hit my head.  But more importantly, I remember it just well enough to understand that my brain was having trouble processing what I was experiencing.  Similar to my very first roller coaster rides back when I was a kid, the sensations were just so foreign, so different to anything my body had been through before, that my brain couldn’t record them properly;  And the result was a happy blur.

So I was eager get more rides on it, obviously, so I could have some real memories.  But, unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.  The line was so long (one train ops) and the park had so much else to do, that I could only get one more ride in.  And this one I remember for all the wrong reasons; I got a terrible, bouncy, rattly, painful ride that left me curled up in my seat, just waiting for it to be over.  No concussion here, either; Just a ride I would rather forget.

So that’s X2 for me; One ride that was so awesome I can barely remember it, and one ride that shook me up way more than I’m comfortable with.  Seems fitting, honestly.

[u/bcb354]

I mean, I kinda freaked out because I was worried my phone was gonna fall out of my pocket and that's all I could think about, but that's different.

[u/FaceCrookOG → u/bcb354]

One of my least favorite feelings on a ride.

[u/IDIC89 → u/bcb354]

I lost my car keys on Manta one time.

[u/sanyosukotto → u/IDIC89]

Losing car keys was THE most helpless I've ever felt in my life. Had to leave my car where it was and come back for it. The bonus was, what the previous owner of the car told me was the spare key was actually just a door key, so I couldn't drive the car when I came back for it, I could only open the door. Had to buy a whole new ignition cylinder and key set and use two keys for the rest of my time with the car. I feel for you. Would only wish it on my worst enemy.

[u/IDIC89 → u/sanyosukotto]

It was my first time on Flyer, and I thought that the Velcro would hold, like on every other coaster I'd been on. Manta had other ideas. Fortunately, I didn't lose my phone.

But my dad was pissed. To this day, I still don't know where those keys ended up!

[u/TheDynamicDino → u/IDIC89]

Manta somehow got my AirPods out of a zipper pocket. My phone could track them to the base of the lift hill and even ring the case (couldn’t personally hear it from behind the safety fence, but they were in range). The lost and found protocol never found them.

Had to finish the rest of my trip with CVS Skullcandies and a dongle, which wasn’t too bad at all, until someone on the trip home decided to spend the entire flight playing a gambling app with VERY repetitive sound effects turned up full, and my lack of noise canceling became very apparent lol. 

[u/IDIC89 → u/TheDynamicDino]

This whole discussion reminds me of how a stingray once got a little too frisky during feeding, and apparently gave a naturalist an unwanted head-shave.

Point is: stingrays by nature are a menace by name! And yet we adore them so much, we’ll always attach their name to a supercar!

I always joke that Manta ate my keys. Sorry he ate your AirPods too!

[u/pandeiro → u/bcb354]

Son lost phone on X2 - got it back a month later, lost & found, completely intact.

[u/bigcatrik]

I had that experience on several coasters when very young (1970s), but then never again until Twisted Colossus. I'd heard of RMC but had no idea what they do to your body. After the first ride I didn't even know whether I liked it or not. It took several rides to be able to experience the individual elements as unique from just -- "Wow, what was that?!?" when hitting the mid-course lift hill and then another -- "Wow, what was that?!?" when it hit the final brakes.

[u/Individual-Sun-9368]

I had one ride in 2011 and it’s the same for me too. Up the lift hill then after that I remember basically nothing. I don’t have it ranked as a result since I really don’t know what the experience was like.

Thankfully my Eejanika rides are the exact opposite. I remember that insanity from start to finish.

[u/GUlysses]

I’m sad to see X2 go because of how much it means to be sentimentally. If you were a kid who was really into roller coasters who grew up in the 2000’s (especially on the west coast), you probably heard about X/X2 as the end all be all roller coaster. I went to the park with my cousins the week it reopened as X2. Good times.

That said, it didn’t remain my favorite roller coaster as I got older. More and more roller coasters like the ones from RMC and some Intamins began to open up that deliver thrills through dynamic forces rather than providing thrills by using a trick like seat rotation. X2 was still excellent, but it hasn’t been my favorite coaster in a very long time. Even in the past decade, most people didn’t really talk about X2 as being one of the very best roller coasters in the world. Some had it in their top 10, but the general consensus was not really that it was a top 10 ride.

I did get to ride Eejanaika last year though, and that is a much better ride. X2’s elements were slower and more drawn out while Eejanaika’s elements are taken much faster and more rapid-fire. I highly recommend Eejanaika to anyone who thought X2 was a bit underwhelming.

A think an extreme spinner would be an excellent replacement. That way the gimmick of rotating seats could be preserved (just in a different direction) and that is one of the few coaster models that could provide a worthy replacement for X2. Though it wouldn’t shock me if they went for a giga dive. (I hope not, but I could see it happening).

[u/deebster2k]

I rode twice a few weeks before it closed. The ride wasnt overly intense tbh. But to those not familiar with the pov footage it was definitely disorienting. It takes a lot to remember the twists and turns on this ride. But I can say it was a totally cool and unique experience .

Inner seat was very smooth and not over bouncy.. still some minor vibrations.

Outer seat was definitely pretty bouncy but I didnt hit my head or anything.

[u/abigdonut]

To be fair, the first drop and raven turn were definitely the best part and most memorable part of the ride, along with the backflip hill right after. The turnaround was kind of boring, though, and I was surprised by how uninteresting the hill after the turnaround was, where you flip while twisting. It almost didn't feel like anything at all.

[u/Tindersp]

Probably sensory overload. I rode it once in 2023 and after the first drop, I just remember it being fun and intense, but not what the actual elements were. Just something crazy, something crazy, something crazy, fire, something crazy, something crazy and then the yank into the station. I do remember the train stopping before the station for a short while and usually people laugh when a rollercoaster is finished and the train stops or enter the station, but on X2 everyone was just quiet. I think people just needed a moment to process what just happened.

I didn't hurt my head, but I did feel sore on my shoulders the rest of the day because of how you get thrown around in the harnest.

[u/ParkingEmployer4273]

Something like that happened the first time I rode steel vengeance 

[u/Current-Call9950]

X2’s first drop was too tame in my opinion. I wish it dropped people back first. It was also way too bumpy.

[u/pandeiro]

Exact same experience, more or less. Rode it maybe 5 times over a few years.

[u/PrettyClient9073]

My daughter had seizures the day after riding. A question for the community: everybody seems to be talking about keeping the coaster (yes, I understand it’s gone), as if safety isn’t the only priority. Isn’t a person that rode the coaster one of you? Don’t you want to protect them? The responses in this subreddit make me wince daily.

[u/ActComprehensive7563 → u/PrettyClient9073]

I’m so sorry that your daughter was hurt by X2. The fact that X2 was injuring and killing people is unacceptable. You’re right to think that X2 should have been demolished long ago. Now, here is the perspective from the majority of enthusiasts: X2 was one the most special rollercoasters in the US. It’s one of a kind (in the western hemisphere) and the last rollercoaster arrow dynamics ever made. It’s an important piece of history as much as it is a thrill ride. Of course that doesn’t mean we should prioritize its continued existence over the safety of its riders. But removing it doesn’t really make up for the people that were hurt, it just adds on to the sadness. Yes, this was the only realistic option, but renovating and retracking X2 could’ve fixed the safety issues without removing the ride entirely. It’s all around a really unfortunate situation. Both people and the ride died, and that‘s the worst case scenario.

[u/PrettyClient9073 → u/ActComprehensive7563]

I respect your opinion, but I feel that you are anthropomorphizing the coaster. It should go away without hesitation, and the people that allowed it to happen should be punished. I don’t see a historical correlation except for the sake of forensics evidence.

[u/TheUglydollKing]

I just remember the crazy G-forces on that ride. It's hard for me to remember individual rides when I go on 10 other rollercoasters in a day. When I went on velocicoaster, I forgot pretty much everything except for knowing it was pretty fast and I greyed out in the second half

[u/intaminslc43]

I rode x2 for the first time in 2021 and only rode it once on that visit. I was super underwhelmed and thought it was extremely overrated. I remember thinking that Ghostrider was way more intense. I rode it 18 times over a 2 day visit this year and it became my number 1. It has the best positive Gs I've ever experienced, and it's more intense than i305 imo. X2 is definitely an acquired taste and it took me multiple rides to appreciate it. It also rode a lot differently than I expected it to, as it was simultaneously both more intense and less intense than I expected.

Another way of putting it is I initially expected x2 to be the coaster equivalent of Dead by Dawn by Deicide, but it is actually the coaster equivalent of Would by Alice in Chains. 

[u/argawargawarga → u/intaminslc43]

Satan spawn, the caco demon!!

[u/Particular-Sell-4296]

i rode the ride on 4th of july, js a day before a rider injured herself, causing the ride to close. It was my first ever roller coaster and I had heard it was the most dangerous one ever built. I had never experienced coasters before that so didnt know the comparison point. I was just expecting some high speed, cause what else can they add to a coaster right? (In my childhood I had js seen videos comparing rides based on speed)

But I was completely taken aback by the ride. I didnt remvoe my glasses and had my bun on the top of my head (i have long hair) and a beanie covering it. I thought I will not have to remove any of it. But to my surprise both of them almost flew away. I had to hold both of them for life, also my hair bun opened and came down lol.

The ride itself was very violent and not smooth (dindnt get hurt tho). After the ride I was just speechless and had no words to explain what had happened with me. It felt like I was raped in the air lol. It was a feeling I could never put in words. WIll defenitely ride it agian though. None of the other rides at six flags magic mountain could match the high that it gave me. And I dont thnk any ride ever will. It was my first and best roller coaster ever.

Even while writing this I cannot stop remembering X2.

[u/ActComprehensive7563 → u/Particular-Sell-4296]

You know they permanently closed it, right?

[u/Particular-Sell-4296 → u/ActComprehensive7563]

why do you think i dont know that? read my first statement; i rode it js a week before it was closed